Basilan mayor killed, another local exec hurt in Zamboanga attack

COTABATO CITY --- An incumbent mayor in Basilan, Darusallam Lajid of Al-Barka, was killed while another mayor, Alih Sali of Akbar, was hurt in a gun attack in Zamboanga City on Monday morning.

The driver of Sali was also reportedly killed in the incident.

In an initial statement Monday, the Zamboanga City Police Office said the two mayors were attacked by four men on motorcycles in a seaside village in Barangay Baliwasan in Zamboanga City, just after arriving from Basilan via a small watercraft.

They were immediately rushed to the private Brent Hospital in Zamboanga City where Lajid eventually succumbed to multiple bullet wounds.

Sali, who was also wounded in the attack, is now confined in the hospital.

Relatives of the victims in Basilan said they are certain the attack could be related to local politics.

They are, however, unsure on who was the real target of the culprits.

Basilan Gov. Jim Salliman, chairperson of the inter-agency Provincial Peace and Order Council, had asked their provincial police to cooperate with the Zamboanga City police in identifying the culprits for prosecution.

Salliman has condemned the atrocity.